Sun Bowl Mania

2012 Hyundai Sun Bowl: High-powered offenses use different approaches

Southern California quarterback Max Wittek prepares to take the snap at the line against Notre Dame during the first half of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

An entertaining bowl game typically revolves around a competitive shootout.

And there are never guarantees on the closeness of the final score. Southern California comes into today's Hyundai Sun Bowl as slightly more than a touchdown favorite over Georgia Tech.

There aren't guarantees for points, either. But there is plenty of intrigue surrounding two radically different offenses that are expected to light up the Sun Bowl scoreboard.

On one side of the ball, USC brings college football's top receiver and one of the best receiving units, with a freshman backup quarterback throwing them the ball, against a Georgia Tech defense that ranks in the bottom half nationally in points allowed.

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Bret Bloomquist

On the other side, the Yellow Jackets run a unique, triple-option attack that has rushed for more yards than any team in the nation since 2008, against a talented, but ultimately mediocre, Trojan defense.

"It's very difficult," USC coach Lane Kiffin said of the challenge ahead of his defense. "Luckily, we've had a month to prepare for it. I don't know how people do it in a week. It's taken us a week to get our service team to play them.

"In a weird way, it's like playing Oregon -- there aren't a lot of plays being run, but they are so good at it."

That offense, which ranks fourth nationally this year at 312.5 rushing yards per game, did have some struggles late against powerhouses Georgia and Florida Tech, but that was without injured top tailback Orwin Smith.

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Smith averages 9.4 yards per carry, which leads the country among 1,000-yard rushers, and he's healthy and ready to go against USC.

"He's a big-time playmaker. It's huge for us to get him back," Tech quarterback coach Brian Bohannon said.

As for how to exploit USC's defense, quarterback Tevin Washington said there isn't any magic formula. The Georgia Tech offense is so unique, it can't even prepare for a specific defense since there is almost never tape of that team defending a triple-option.

Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington scrambles against North Carolina State during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

"Those guys are really talented, we will be presented a challenge," Washington said. "It's about executing, sticking to the game plan, attention to detail, make sure we do the little things."

While that matchup is all about USC facing an unknown, Georgia Tech has a good feel of what it is getting from the Trojans. Stopping Marqise Lee, who just won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver, and his running mate Robert Woods, is another matter.

"It's tough, a tough matchup for anybody," Yellow Jacket coach Paul Johnson said. "Both starting wide receivers, and the other guys who come in, too, are very talented. Both will be playing on Sundays. They are both NFL receivers. We're not going to stop them totally. We'll try to limit them, change up our coverages, maybe bump them off their routes.

"What stands out watching them is the yards after catch. They catch the ball and they are hard to get down. They are both good athletes, good players."

Said Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Charles Kelly: "Ask any coach in America, ask my wife, we have a tough matchup, a very tough matchup."

The wild card is that USC is without quarterback Matt Barkley, who began the year as the Heisman Trophy front-runner, but was injured in the 11th game against UCLA. Freshman Max Wittek finished up against the Bruins, led the team in a 22-13 loss to Notre Dame and has been taking first-team reps for almost six weeks now.

"This isn't the first time we've had to do it; we had to do it the last game of the season with a short week," Kiffin said. "The team is very confident in him. It's not like all of the sudden we made him the starter.

"We don't do anything differently. We run our system. We recruit a quarterback to fit our system so we don't have to change things."

Georgia Tech certainly isn't expecting anything to be easy.

"It's going to be tough, they have two great receivers," Jackets cornerback Rod Sweeting said. "That's going to be a challenge. (Wittek) throws the ball farther than Matt Barkley, so we have to be prepared."

Wittek "can throw the football," Kelly said.

One thing both teams want to do is hold the ball so the other offense stays off the field.

"Their offense puts up a lot of points, so we can't afford to make mistakes and give them extra possessions," Woods said. "From what I've seen on film, Georgia Tech has a very physical defense. They really fly around out there."

Said USC offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu, "We have to steal possessions. We have to hold the ball, make sure we secure the football, convert third downs, keep them off the field. We have to be efficient.

"We have talented receivers. We want to get those guys opportunities to make plays."

If form holds, that means a lot of points and two defenses under siege.

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359. Follow him on Twitter @bretbloomquist